I just arrived at my parents house yesterday. They take care of 4 stray cats outside. My dad told me that the on cat must have been attacked by an animal and is now missing part of his foot. If his foot was a human hand I'd say he's missing all fingers except the pointer and thumb, right down to the big knuckle. We're going to take him into the vet tomorrow (that out to be fun because he's semi-ferral) but please help me prepare, what is the best and worst-case scenarios? I'm worried that it has become infected and that the infection has traveled up his leg. Ugh, I don't know. It should be a tough day for all.

best case, i'd say he needs a sturdy bandage that will need to be kept pretty dry and several weeks of regular antibiotics. given that he's a semi-feral stray, this is a pretty bad best case. worst case, expensive surgery to amputate the leg, or an infection that's gone systemic, or a strong recommendation for euthanasia.

i'm really, really sorry that you're in this position, but he's so lucky to have people like you looking out for him and making sure he doesn't suffer more than he has to.

_________________"rise from the ashes of douchebaggery like a fancy vegan phoenix" - amandabear"I'm pretty sure the moral of this story is: fork pants." - cq

best case, i'd say he needs a sturdy bandage that will need to be kept pretty dry and several weeks of regular antibiotics. given that he's a semi-feral stray, this is a pretty bad best case. worst case, expensive surgery to amputate the leg, or an infection that's gone systemic, or a strong recommendation for euthanasia.

i'm really, really sorry that you're in this position, but he's so lucky to have people like you looking out for him and making sure he doesn't suffer more than he has to.

I'd be nixing the bandaging idea unless it's very short term.. you have to ensure it is kept 110% dry, the cat is kept inside and you have to always be checking that the bandage is not too tight or you will have to amputate if the circulation were to get cut off... as well would you be able to give antibiotics, usually twice daily.

Amputation is sometimes not as expensive as one might think/nor an absolute worst case scenario.. however, how would the cat do outside after as a tripod? You would need to keep kitty inside for at least 10-14 days so he/she can recover as well, giving antibiotics.

Not an easy call. Thank you for looking out for this little one and good luck. Fingers crossed.

My dad and I took him, Junior, to the vet this morning. He is missing his 3rd and 4th digits and the bone is exposed. They did not need to fully sedate him as he was doing pretty well but they gave him a shot of pain killers with a small dose of sedatives. They also gave him a shot of antibiotics. No follow up pills. They cleaned it out really well and clipped some of the loose stuff. They ran a blood test and everything is fine. His white blood cell count was normal. If it was high it would be a sign of a systemic infection. He also had no fever. He is staying in the garage for a bit to give the tissue time to heal over and cover the wound (which has already started).

On the other hand, I am being blamed by my mom for initiating the vet appointment that cost $211 and I was told that they (aka just my mom) are not going to do anything more for the outdoor cats. She doesn't understand that if you take care of strays you also resume the responsibility for medical issues as well. And of course when I mentioned that I think it would be different if Buddy was hurt (another stray cat who is affectionate and let's you hold him) she said "that's different". I made all of these feelings known and also told her that if she did not want to be responsible for medical coverage to stray cats then she needs to not have gotten involved to begin with. Guess that means they won't be taking him back to the vet on Monday as the dr. requested. Sorry if I sound like a bisque, it just really peas me off.. all comes back to cuddly animals= good, do everything you can to help "food" animals or semi-ferral animals = oh well sucks for you.

It's so great to hear that he's okay!! I've fed several ferals off and on through the years and their situation really tugs on my heartstrings.

I would suggest, though, considering going easy on your parents. I think it's wonderful that they're taking care of some animals who need help in whatever capacity they are able to. I have provided food and outside shelter to some ferals (who were feral enough to not let me near them), but don't necessarily think that translates to total responsibility for them--if it did, I probably wouldn't feed them because I simply can't full responsibility for the care of every stray cat that lives in my neighborhood. I get where you're coming from--it's a very, very sad situation, but I think it's better to encourage people who are willing to help than to disparage them for not doing enough. Bummer that she came down on you for the vet bill, though.

aww! i'm glad to hear he's ok. sorry they are freaking out about the bill, but at least you got him looked at!

Our cat Nero who we've had for 8 years now came to us by limping in the back door one day when it was open. He just came right into the house, so we took him to the vet and he had been hit by a car and his leg was broken in 3 places requiring surgery. the vet gave us a discount, but it was still $1200 followed by a long recovery process. he's been our little buddy ever since!

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